IEA ready to release more emergency oil if needed, chief says
The International Energy Agency stands ready to coordinate further emergency oil stock releases if member countries deem it necessary, its executive director said on Tuesday. The agency is prioritising the front-loading of 20 million barrels of diesel to cool record-high prices driven by supply disr
The International Energy Agency is ready to coordinate further emergency oil releases by member countries if needed, its chief said on Tuesday, while it accelerates the release of diesel under existing plans to help cool surging prices.
Disruption to supply from the Gulf and Russia has sent diesel prices to record highs in many markets, including the United States, where it has become a talking point ahead of November 3 midterm elections.
The IEA, which coordinates industrialised nations' releases of oil from emergency stocks, announced last week that it would accelerate the release of crude and oil product volumes pledged in March, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel as soon as possible.
"If it is needed...and if our countries consider it's time to push the button, as the International Energy Agency, we are ready to go," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at a conference in London organised by the Financial Times, when asked about the prospect of an additional release.
The release of the 20 million barrels of diesel is a priority and the timing depends on individual countries and market conditions, he said, without giving a specific timeframe. "We're trying to front-load those diesel deliveries," he added.
Global diesel markets could remain tight well into next year, with resulting high prices driving inflation, the IEA said in its most recent oil market report. "I personally don't see any credible pathway that 2027 will be a year of normalisation," Birol said at the conference.
Brent crude oil rose to more than US$111 (HK$865.8) a barrel on Tuesday, a five-month high. European benchmark diesel futures were trading at US$1,482.25 per metric ton, up almost 4 per cent since the IEA announced it would accelerate the release of the remainder of the March volumes. Members have so far released 80 per cent of the record 400 million barrels of crude and oil products they committed to, Birol said.